Hugh Watson

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Hugh D. Watson (* 1872; † 1954) was a British naval officer and diplomat (naval attaché).

Live and act

Watson joined the British Royal Navy in the 1880s . After he had made it up to the rank of captain , he was sent to Berlin in August 1910 as the successor to Herbert Heath as British naval attaché . There he was entrusted with maintaining German-British marine political relations until 1913 , which at that time were very tense due to the expansion of the German deep-sea fleet , which the British observed with suspicion .

In the spring of 1912, Watson took part in the so-called Haldane mission , ultimately unsuccessful, negotiations with which an attempt was made to resolve the naval conflict between the two states through a naval agreement. He was on friendly terms with leading German personalities such as Kaiser Wilhelm II , the Admirals von Scheer and von Müller , but likewise without result.

In World War I , Watson commanded the armored cruiser Essex , later the Bellerophon . Watson then held the post of Naval Secretary, one of the highest offices in the British Navy, under the Navy Minister Leopold Amery , who held him in high regard.

At the Battle of Skagerrak in 1916 Watson took part as "The Vide Admiral Commanding, Captain. Fourth Battle Squadron".

By the time he retired in London, Watson had attained the rank of admiral.

family

Watson's marriage to Janie Amina Pearson, daughter of George Pearson and younger sister of Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, had at least three sons. Hugh Watson (1903–1942), Gilbert Watson and James Watson.

Remarks

  1. ^ Franz von Rintelen : The Dark Invader , 1998, p. 79.
  2. ^ Gustaf Johan Toivo von Schoultz / Arthur Chambers: With the British Battle Fleet: War Recollections of a Russian Naval Officer , 1925, p. 235 (German: With the Grand Fleet in World War. Memories of a participant , translated by H. Souchon. Leipzig , KF Koehler 1925)
  3. ^ Leopold Amery: My Political Life , 1953, p. 251.
  4. ↑ Great Britain Admiralty: Battle of Jutland, 30th May to 1st June, 1916 . Official Dispatches (...), 1920, p. 385.
  5. ^ Mildred March Murray: Sir Oswyn Murray. The Making of a Civil Servant , 1940, p. 200.
  6. ^ John Alfred Spender: Weetman Pearson, First Viscount Cowdray , 1856-1927, 1977, p. 2.
personal data
SURNAME Watson, Hugh
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Watson, Hugh D.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British naval officer and diplomat (naval attaché)
DATE OF BIRTH 1872
DATE OF DEATH 1954